ONE OF Cumbria’s rising young literary talents spent the day inspiring the next generation by bringing her passion for poetry to the classroom.

Poet Katie Hale, whose debut novel will be published this summer, paid a visit to Brampton Primary School this Tuesday, running poetry workshops designed to explore painting pictures with words.

“We looked at poetry and place with year five and six, using various places in Cumbria as prompts,” Katie said.

“We were looking at how to create images and feelings with words.

“And with year four we were looking at object poetry and riddles.”

Literacy lead at Brampton Primary Lisa Miller was delighted with the enthusiasm Katie created.

“She came with a top hat, but encouraged them to use their imagination, suggesting it could be reimagined, for instance as as a pirate’s eyepatch instead.”

“The children absolutely loved it. They were all asking when she can come back.

“They were really inspired by her.”

Katie, who lives in Shap near Penrith, was similarly impressed with how the children took to the tasks.

“The kids were brilliant”, she said. “They were so keen, and really enthusiastic about the writing.

“It was a joy to work with them.”

Katie’s debut novel will be published on June 6 this year. Taking inspiration from Robinson Crusoe and Frankenstein and titled My Name Is A Monster, it has already made its way onto the Guardian’s list of book suggestions for 2019.

For Lisa Miller, having Brampton Primary pupils come face-to-face with a professional writer was a great opportunity to kindle inspiration in potential future authors.

“Bringing someone in from outside can be really exciting for the children, it’s a good way to engage them,” she said.

“She’s someone that writes for a living. It’s about making the children realise that she does it as a job, and they could too.

“When you talk about careers like being an author, it sounds quite far fetched.

“But coming face to face with an author, it helps make it real for the children.”